Correction Department Reverses Ban On Wally Lamb Book

HARTFORD – Following a social media uproar, the state Department of Correction on Thursday rescinded its ban on "She's Come Undone," Connecticut author Wally Lamb's bestselling tale of heartbreak and redemption.

The novel was temporarily pulled from circulation at the York Correctional Institution library "due to some of the graphic nature of the book's content,'' department spokesman Andrius Banevicius said.

"After a further review of the issue, the book has since been returned to circulation within the facility's library,'' Banevicius said in a statement. "The department's policy states that publications can be rejected by the review board for a variety of reasons, 'unless those materials which, taken as a whole, are literary, artistic, educational or scientific in nature' - in which case an exception is made.''

The decision to ban the book sparked an outpouring of criticism on Facebook and Twitter. Lamb, who has conducted a writing workshop with inmates at the York women's prison in Niantic for the past 14 years, called the decision "absurd" on his Facebook page.

"Citing sexual explicitness as the 'official' reason, CT DOC has pulled from its prison library shelves my 21-year old novel about a troubled young woman who goes through hard times and then fixes her life,'' Lamb wrote. "Apparently a few sex scenes (tame by today's standards) negate the value of the novel's message about the necessity of personal rehabilitation."

Lawlor also reached out to correction department officials. "I pointed out that this book is a bestselling novel,'' Lawlor said. "It's kind of hard to imagine it would fit anyone's definition of pornography."

Late Thursday, Lamb said he was thrilled that the book was reinstated.

"I have Mike Lawlor to thank for that and also the several hundred people who responded on my Facebook pages after I posted about the ban last night," Lamb said. "The power of social media and public opinion: Wow!"

Published in 1992, "She's Come Undone" tells the story of a 257-pound protagonist named Dolores Price who ultimately prevails despite the grim circumstances of her youth. The novel shot to the top of the bestseller list after it was selected as an Oprah Book Club title in 1996.

The book's themes are likely to resonate with the women prisoners at York, many of whom endured hardships similar to those experienced by the main character, Lawlor said.

"Basically it's about a woman who was brutally beaten and sexually abused and her story of personal growth,'' Lawlor said. "Wally Lamb is a master at relating to difficulties that many women have in their lives and if you're a woman inmate at York, you might be inspired by reading that.''

The ban was triggered when the novel was ordered by an inmate at the Manson Youth Institution earlier this month. The request was reviewed by the Department of Correction Media Review Board, which reviews all inmate reading requests.

The panel has the power to deny those inmate reading requests that are deemed inappropriate and it initially denied "She's Come Undone." That denial led to the book's placement on a list of banned publications and it was pulled from the shelves at York.

According to departmental policy, the media review board has the right to reject reading material that is sexually explicit or depicts the construction of weapons and bombs. Also banned are publications that outline methods of escape from correctional facilities, contain recipes for brewing alcoholic beverages or the manufacture of drugs, or provide a guide to criminal acitivity.

The board, which is made up of representatives from each of the state's 16 correctional institutions, meets twice per month. In July, the panel reviewed 204 publications. Of those, 127 were approved, 55 were rejected and 14 were partially permitted.

The board tabled eight publications for further review; among them was Lamb's 2007 book, "I'll Fly Away: Further Testimonies From the Women at York Prison," which includes the work of women in his writing workshop at York.

Banevicius said the decision to place "I'll Fly Away" on further review status has also been reversed.